Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro

Summarizing the Differences

So compare them then Hilbert... Pleaaaasee... okay then since you really need to know: key factors that are different are the following two items. DACs - Our Audigy 4 has the highest possible quality DACs,

Audigy 2 DAC: 1x CS4382: 8out 114dB dynamic range, -100dB THD+N
Audigy 4 DAC: 4x CS4398: 2out 120dB dynamic range, -107dB THD+N

For those that don't know. The DAC's are Digital to Analog Converters. The better the quality the better the sound as they are responsible for a better signal to noise ratio (SNR). The Audigy 2 ZS had an SNR of 108 bD where the newer Audigy 4 series have an amazing 113 dB SNR.

The Audigy 4 Pro uses Cirrus Logic's flagship DACs, the CS4398 in a quad setup for 8 channel output. (7.1), to my knowledge there simply is nothing better at this date. It's the same stuff used on professional studio cards.

Software - Other than that there are some minor differences in feature set and drivers. The Audigy cards offer the most in terms of "stuff" with their cards. The new Audigy 4 did receive a small layout upgrade and of course supports the basics from Speaker control, to EAX, THX and finally an Equalizer. We'll show you some software goodness later on.

Other then that, of course the breakout box and the way cool remote control. We will talk about that in a bit as we of course will show you all of it in a photo-shoot.

Here are the card's features as posted on Creative's site:

Audigy 4 Pro Processor

Advanced hardware accelerated digital effects processing
32-bit digital processing, which maintains a theoretical 192 dB of dynamic range
Patented 8-point interpolation that reduces distortion to inaudible levels
64-voice hardware Wavetable synthesizer
Professional quality digital mixing and equalization

High Definition Audio Quality for Playback and Recording

Playback of 64 audio channels, each at an arbitrary sample rate
24-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion of analog inputs at 96 kHz sample rate
24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of digital sources at 96 kHz to analog 7.1 speaker output
24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of stereo digital sources at 192 kHz to stereo output
16-bit to 24-bit recording sampling rates: 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz.
Supports Sony/Philips Digital Interface (SPDIF) format of up to 24-bit/96 kHz quality. Selectable sampling rate of 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz
Low latency multitrack recording with ASIO 2.0 support at 16-bit, 48 kHz and 24-bit, 96 kHz resolution.

*(Latency performance may vary based on system configuration)

FireWire® (IEEE® 1394) Connectivity

Compliant with IEEE 1394a specification
Supports data rates of 100, 200, and 400 Mbps
Supports up to 63 FireWire (IEEE 1394) compatible devices in a daisy-chain configuration
Supplies up to 3 Watts to FireWire (IEEE 1394) compatible devices

Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro On-Board Connectors

Line level out (Front / Side / Rear / Center / Subwoofer)
Digital CD Audio in
Aux Audio in
AD Link 1 and AD Link 2 connectors to connect with external I/O hub.
Power connector

Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro External I/O Hub Front / Rear Panel Connectors

Headphone Out (1/4" Stereo Jack)
Line In 1 (1/4" Stereo Jack , shared with Mic In with Gain Control)
Line In 2 (1/4" Stereo Jack)
Line In 3 (2x RCA Jack)
Optical SPDIF In/Out
Coaxial SPDIF In/Out
Digital Out for 5.1 support (6-channel SPDIF Output to Creative digital speakers)
2x FireWire® (IEEE® 1394) ports
MIDI In / Out
Infra-red Receiver to communicate with Remote Control
AD Link 1 and AD Link 2 connectors to connect with Audigy 4 Pro

Audio Performance:

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (AES17, A-Weighted)

Output Voltage @ 2Vrms
Stereo Output 113dB
Front and Rear Channels 113dB
Center, Subwoofer and Side Channels 113dB

Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz (AES17) = 0.003% (2V Rated Output) Frequency Response +/-3dB: 10Hz to 46kHz

Works with the Following Standards:

Windows® XP and 2K
Sound Blaster MIDI and General MIDI
Plug and Play
Sound Blaster PCI
EAX, EAX ADVANCED HD
Microsoft® DirectSound® , DirectSound 3D & derivatives
OpenAL™
PCI 2.3 compliant
AC '97
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital EX
DTS Digital Surround®
DTS-ES Surround™
Meridian Lossless Packing
ASIO 2.0
Sound Font 2.1
DVD-Audio
Windows Media® Audio 9